This disclosure relates generally to social networking systems, and more specifically to selecting time-specific content for presentation to users of a social networking system.
A social networking system allows its users to connect and communicate with other social networking system users. Users create profiles in the social networking system that are tied to their identities and include information about the users, such as interests and demographic information. The users may be individuals or entities such as corporations or charities. Because of the popularity of social networking systems and the significant amount of user-specific information maintained by social networking systems, a social networking system provides an ideal forum for allowing users to share content by creating content items for presentation to additional social networking system users. For example, users may share photos or videos they have uploaded by creating content items that include the photos or videos that are presented to additional users to whom they are connected in the social networking system. A social networking system also provides advertisers with abundant opportunities to increase awareness about their products or services by presenting advertisements to social networking system users. For example, advertisements presented to users allow an advertiser to gain public attention for products or services and to persuade social networking system users to take an action regarding the advertiser's products, services, opinions, or causes.
Conventionally, social networking systems generate revenue by displaying content to their users. For example, a social networking system may charge advertisers for each presentation of an advertisement to a social networking system user (i.e., each “impression”), or for each interaction with an advertisement by a social networking system user (e.g., each click on the advertisement, each purchase made as a result of clicking through the advertisement, etc.). Furthermore, by presenting content that encourages user engagement with social networking systems, social networking systems may increase the number of opportunities they have to generate revenue. For example, if a social networking system user scrolls through a newsfeed to view content that captures the user's interest, advertisements that are interspersed in the newsfeed also may be presented to the user.
Social networking systems traditionally select content items for presentation to social networking system users based on targeting criteria associated with the content items that specify one or more attributes of social networking system users eligible to be presented with the content items. For example, targeting criteria are used to identify users associated with specific user profile information satisfying at least one of the targeting criteria. Attributes specified by targeting criteria are usually associated with social networking system users who are likely to have an interest in content items associated with the targeting criteria or who are likely to find such content items relevant. For example, content items associated with a particular restaurant may be associated with targeting criteria describing social networking system users who have expressed an interest in the restaurant (e.g., users who frequently check in to the restaurant, users who have expressed a preference for a page associated with the restaurant maintained by a social networking system, etc.). Therefore, targeting criteria allow social networking systems to present content items to users who are likely to have affinities for such content items, which encourages user engagement with the social networking systems, thus increasing the number of opportunities the social networking systems have to generate revenue.
However, targeting criteria do not help social networking systems identify content items that may be more relevant to social networking system users during certain times than others. Content items maintained by social networking systems are often associated with topics that are seasonal in nature and are therefore likely to be of greater interest to social networking system users during particular time periods than others. For example, social networking system users are more likely to be interested in an event (e.g., the Super Bowl) while the event is occurring, as well as during the time just before and after the event occurs than during other times of the year. By failing to account for time as a factor when selecting content items for presentation to social networking system users, social networking systems may be presenting content items to users who no longer find the content relevant. In the above example, if targeting criteria associated with a content item associated with the Super Bowl identify users who have indicated an interest in football and either of the teams playing in the Super Bowl, social networking system users who have indicated an interest in football and in the losing team who would rather not be reminded of the Super Bowl may be presented with the content item several days or even weeks after the Super Bowl. Hence, by relying primarily on targeting criteria to select content for presentation to users, social networking systems may inadvertently present content that users no longer find interesting or relevant, which may be have a detrimental effect on user retention rates and long-term revenue.